Design + Product

Swallow’s Tail Furniture is a Warsaw, Poland based design company established by designer and artist pair Piotr Grzybowski and Magda Hubka. The name of company comes from a Polish translation of a carpenter joint -a dove tail = swallow’s tail.

STF was set up in 2014, gaining international interest thanks to the Must Have 2015 and iF Design Award 2016 awards.

Swallow’s Tail Furniture is designed with heart. All the furniture pieces can be described as being unique and of highest quality. They are minimalist and with powerful personality. STF combines traditional carpenters’ craftsmanship with modern design and the use of high technology.

A glimpse into the past, to draw inspiration from the best tradition of Art and a glimpse into the future to bring innovative ideas to life.

Swallow’s Tail Furniture stands out thanks to its balanced design. All the projects mature over time, as does good cheese, in a process engaging a team of designers, constructors and experts in furniture production technology.

“Our designs put emphasis on functionality, the quality of materials, lines and proportions, the harmony of forms.

Our products are characterized by unique and innovative construction, care being taken about every detail and perfect finishing.”

STF also has a special approach towards production. The process of creating every piece of furniture is carefully supervised by our designers, who watch over every stage of production, starting from the first sketch on paper.

Furniture made with special care to meet the highest demands of our clients. Both functional and appealing, made to last and endure beautifully.

“The purpose of our brand is to promote Polish craft tradition, resurrect unique carpentry methods with the use of the technology available. In the construction of furniture we rely on classic carpentry combinations, i.e.

dovetail joints, finger joints, fork joints, housed joints, etc. We use traditional methods of finishing furniture, shellac polish, natural waxes. We show how to use this timeless knowledge drawn from the history of development of craft in our region in the contemporary design.”

our products

The production is closely linked with the creative process. After a few prototypes we begin the preparation of selected material, lumber and slabs of oak and chestnut. The wood from which we produce our furniture is of the highest quality. We also make every effort so that the production process is the most eco-friendly and economical. We use positioning software cutting the material in a wood consumption saving manner, and also saving the energy to minimum.

Above all, it is supervised by experienced craftsmen. Each item of furniture, e.g. more advanced processing carpentry, finally goes into our hands. It passes a final quality control. Our furniture products are finished with non-toxic and health-friendly lacquers, including vegetable oils and waxes.

Swallow’s Tail mission is to create good furniture.
Furniture for anyone who appreciates design, functionality and quality.

From drawings we move to the design of the CAD programs, first 2D and then 3D. This is the first check whether our idea goes to forge on specifics – design and material. With a handful of technical drawings we go to the studio.

Then we go to the real dimension and make a prototype. This is the most exciting part of the process. The first time we see how our design feels comfortable in the space. It’s a tough test, we get nervous! We touch, we look at it from every possible perspective! Is the prototype close to be perfect?

And now there is a real challenge: finding the right material, first arrangements, and finally the heaviest one is: CNC – five-axis machining center.

We take care of every detail, from the first strokes on paper, by finding the highest quality wood, the project construction and finishing works.

What you need to know before you sit down at our table…

We are designers and manufactures of furniture at the same time. We do our best to ensure that our products are unique in terms of design and quality.

Designing is a long and demanding process.

It begins with the notes, simple handwritten sketches, sometimes “on a napkin.” Then follows drawing options, searching proportions, proper form. We experiment. New drawings come from our hands. The inspiration tends to be “external elements” as powerful as the construction of the bridge. Some other time it is a climate of an old photograph which takes us into a new dimension.

Magda

Magda is romantic. She celebrates a moment. She takes care of details. She plays with samples of veneers, fabrics, paints. She grew up with a scale ruler and rotring pens (Dad, architect, drew designs by hand – there was no AutoCAD!), maybe this is why she believes that the design is her daily bread. She loves ideal proportions, noble materials and sketching on a piece of paper by using a pencil! She likes retro and moody style. She likes to design to order when she has the feeling that the customer is not far away.

Piotr

Piotr is a constructor, an activator, a rebel – he would design a table with the most sophisticated details, he can talk about from the very moment he wakes up. Each wood joint fascinates him deeply and he loves creating at high speed, with full energy of new technology. Once he confessed that he enjoyed making balusters on a lathe at the furniture school. He is fascinated by Polish traditional furniture, but he is also fond of Scandinavian design.